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Chia Seeds-Not only good for those ceramic pets!

You know those little Chia Pets that grow grass out of them? Is the little jingle, Chhhaaa, Chhaa, Chhaa Chia playing in your head? The seeds do much more than mesmerize us by growing a grass coat on a ceramic pet! The white variety of Chia is also called Salba, and they are interchangeable with the black Chia seeds. They are a great substitute for eggs, guar gum, xanthan gum; and have lots of health benefits.

Egg Substitute(equivalent to 1 whole egg: 1 TBSP Chia seeds+3 TBSP Hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes until thick/gelatinous. You can use the same proportions of ground flaxseed instead of Chia as another alternative for eggs.

It is also great in a glass of juice or smoothie or pancake/waffle mix-try mixing in a teaspoon. They become gelatinous and have a little crunch and are really fun in drinks. Kids will love them. It reminds me a little of the tapioca drinks, but much more pleasant for my taste.

I found Organic Chia seeds online or you can find them in your local health food store. I am going to be testing this seeds and will keep you posted on my results. I am going to convert some of my recipes in my current cookbook, No Wheat No Dairy No Problem. I’m so excited to try this because so many people ask me about egg substitutes. I am finding that I am becoming more sensitive to eggs! I cannot wait to try to use it in pudding and pray it will turn out!

Any seeds(flax, salba, chia etc…) with a lot of omega oils are very fragile. When you heat these seeds the oils can become rancid very quickly. When baking with flax or chia and salba the product will only have a 5 day shelf life before the oils go rancid. When oils go rancid they go from being a free-radical scavenger into a free radical which has been shown to cause cancer! So these seeds are best when whole and eaten raw. I like to keep them in an airtight jar in the freezer. Be sure to watch for the expiration date on the package and label your jar with the date.

Give these seeds a try and please share with all of us under this post, click on Comment to share. We will look forward to hear your experience with Chia and Salba! Happy Eating. 🙂